Maximum Ride: Mutation Begins
by Travis Skywer
Summary: Max and the flock are called to Lawrence, Kansas, and find some mysterious activity in a giant building. When they find another Avian-human hybrid, they decide to rescue her.
1. 1

(I have no clue why but I had the urge to create book five

**(I have no clue why but I had the urge to create book five! How original! (Hint sarcasm) So I basically came up with an intro and I think I'll build from there. Oh yeah, this story takes place in real places. No joke! It's right at the center of Google Earth.)**

Max POV (Just for JP)

We were soaring happily amongst the sky, and for no reason, everyone seemed happy to be out in danger again. Well, except Fang, who was impassive as usual.

But I knew he was happy. As happy as Fang gets. But he looked troubled, too. I wondered what was wrong.

"Max, I'm hungry!" Complained Nudge. Wow. Didn't see that one coming.

"We have to wait until we get to…Hey voice, What were the coordinates again?" I asked the voice.

_38 degrees north, 95 degrees west. _The voice replied patiently.

"English?" I asked. Where the heck was that?

_Kansas. In Lawrence. _

"What's there?" I asked. All I ever heard about Kansas was farms.

I waited. No answer. Okay, maybe this voice wasn't Jeb. But whoever it was, they were sure annoying. Giving me riddles all the time. Jeez.

"Okay Nudge, we have to get to Kansas. Then you can eat." I said, now knowing what the heck I was talking about.

"Okay." She said. A one word sentence. That can mean two different things. One, she's Fang in disguise, or two, it's a sign of the apocalypse.

Either way, we were going to Kansas, hungry or not.

Fang flew over next to me.

"Hey," He said casually.

"Hey. Or as you'd say it, sup." I replied.

"Hey Max," He began.

"Yeah?"

He paused. What was up with him?

"Never mind." He said, quickly looking away.

"What? What is it?" I asked. He was hiding something…

"Nothing." He stated firmly.

"C'mon. Say it."

"I said nothing!" He almost shouted. He flew back to his original 'spot.'

_So close! Darn it! _Angel.

_So close what?_ I asked.

_He was about to admit it!_

_Out with it girl!_

_Remember when we went to that football game a few months ago?_

_Um…Yeah?_

_Here, I'll send you a flashback…_

And before I knew it, I was there. I was at that football game, with no control over my body. I really hated that sort of thing.

"_Max?" Angel looked up at me. I really had to get these kids a bath soon, I realized, looking at her limp blonde curls._

"_Yes honey? You hungry?" I started to wave down a hot-dog vendor._

"_No. I mean, yeah, I'll take two hot dogs, and total wants two too—but I meant, it's okay."_

"_What's okay?"_

"_Everything." She looked up at me earnestly. "Everything will be okay, Max. We've come this far—we're supposed to survive. We'll survive, and you'll save the world, like you're supposed to."_

_Well, reality just shows up sometimes, doesn't it?_

"_I'm not comfortable in this stadium." I explained, trying to look calm._

"_I know. And you hate Fang looking at those girls. But we're still having fun, and Fang still loves you, and you'll still save the world. Okay?"_

The last words still echoed as I realized I was flying and not at the football game at all.

Instead I was realizing what 'nothing' meant. He was about to admit he loved me. So Angel didn't make it up.

I had to do some thinking about that boy. But I'd have to do it later. We were about to land in Lawrence.


	2. 2

(I think I'll make this into a real story

**(I think I'll make this into a real story. And do tell me if you looked up the area. The place of interest is just south of the highway. It's the huge building, surrounded by parking lots.)**

There wasn't much to this place, after all. We did a quick 360 and tried to decide what to do.

"Maybe it's underground in one of these buildings!" Nudge suggested.

"We wouldn't need the wings if it were underground." I explained. But hey, it's a start.

"Well it could be—" I stopped.

"What?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Nudge asked.

"Shh! I think I hear something over there!" I gestured to a dump northeast of us.

We listened closer.

"I thought there were only six!" One of them said.

We ran over there, hiding behind a mountain of trash.

"Do you think that Itex only made six experiments?" My breath froze in my chest. "Get a brain, Ross."

Ross looked at him sternly.

"But Vlad, you idiot, I meant the avian hybrids!" At that, I gasped, and quickly clapped my hand over my mouth.

"Max," Fang said, hitting me.

Ross and Vlad looked over at us.

"Trevor? Is that you?" Ross said.

"I'll handle this one." Iggy said.

Oh my god. Iggy was going to get himself killed!

But ignoring my thoughts…oh wait, that's Angel's thing. He jumped out from behind the pile of trash.

"Yeah, you caught me." Iggy said, in an impressive New York accent, if I say so myself.

"Wait a second…" Vlad said quietly.

He silently moved to the right. His eyes stayed ahead, where Vlad _used _to be. Oh no, this was it!

"Trevor's not blind! Get him!" Vlad said, exposing Iggy.

"U and A, guys!" I finally said, standing up.

We all flew up in the air, finally free…to figure out what they meant.

"But…If there's more than six of us…?" Nudge said, and then began to count us. "Nope! They're wrong. There's six."

"No, Nudge sweetie, the other one could be somewhere else." I said. We really needed to start thinking outside the box.

"Oh, okay! That makes sense! Cause we wouldn't have miscounted all this time. And—" She stopped when Iggy clapped his hand to her mouth.

We hovered above the dump, and watched those dudes flee like fleas. Get it? Fleas? Whatever.

But now was definitely _not _the time to be the world's next UFO's so we landed in a forest, and walked for a bit. What was the voice talking about?

_Max, Max, Max. What do all evil things have in common? _The voice asked annoyingly.

_Umm…they're big…and um… _I began.

_Exactly! _The voice actually interrupted me. Jerk.

_So…I just look for a big thing?_

_It's a start._

And I could tell right then the voice had tuned out.

"Guys, start looking for a big thing." I said stupidly. If it weren't for that voice, I'd sound a lot smarter.

"Wahoo!" Shouted…Oh, My God. It was Fang. But lemme tell you. He had the skills to back it up. He was back flipping from tree to tree, Swinging on braches, looking like a flying monkey.

He landed, then quickly wiped the smile off his face and cleared his throat.

"Um…I mean…That was fun…" He said, blushing, and trying to hide his emotions.

He was never gonna live this one down.

But as soon as we were done with our little laugh-off, we heard rustling in the grass, as if someone was coming.

"C'mon guys, someone's coming!" I whisper-shouted.

"Wait! Max! Take me with you!" She shouted after us. She unfurled her wings and took off after us.

"Wait up!" She shouted.

She really pumped her wings and flew up next to us. Wait…She flew! She was one of us!

"Everybody land!" I shouted. All seven—nine if you count total and Akila—landed.

"Y-You," I stuttered, pointing at the girl.

"Me." She said.

"You're a human-avian hybrid!"

"Uh-huh. 14, just like you, Fang, and Iggy."

"Are you a runaway?"

"I just escaped!"

"Take us there." I said, turning to walk to wherever she would take us.

"Who-ho-hoa! If they see any of us, we're toast, you hear me? TOAST!"

"At least tell me your name." I said, looking at her earnestly.

"I'm Kayla. Now can we please get out of here?" She asked pleadingly.

I examined her. She didn't look like a threat. I guess we could take her. But first, we needed to see what the big deal about this place was.

"Fine, we'll go." She said. How did she—

"I can read minds, like Angel." She said, gesturing to my little sweetheart.

This was gonna be a long day…

**(A/N: Again, if you have Google Earth, look it up. When it opens, just zoom in, and you'll see a dump to the west, a small woodsy area to the east, nothing interesting in the north, and across the highway, a huge building to the south. R&R!)**

**(S.H.OUT!)**


	3. 3

(Wasshup ma peeps

**(Wasshup ma peeps? Lol here's chappie three. **** Oh, and the title 'Mutation Begins' will be relevant soon…Especially for a special someone…)**

We were right outside the building. We were all walking towards the big, ominous building. We didn't want to expose ourselves by flying.

But still, walking through the forever-parking-lot wasn't so great, either.

After our perilous trek, we were right next to the door. This place didn't look so bad. Hey, there weren't any erasers, so it was fine with me!

Kayla whimpered. I looked back at her. She looked totally terrified. I mean, like, die of fright kind of terrified. She was looking upwards at the building.

I noticed she was pale. Would she…faint? Right in the middle of a mission? I sure hoped—

She let out a shuddering breath as she fainted.

"No!" I shouted, quickly saving her from a major concussion.

"C'mon, Kayla! Not during a mission!" I shouted. Yeah, she'll hear me. Like that'll happen!

I looked frantically for a place to run. We weren't going to do this mission 'till tomorrow, I guess.

I picked her up and flew to that woodsy area we found her in.

The others followed. We landed in a cozy little spot.

It was getting late anyway, so we might as well sleep for the night.

And so we did.

I had strange dreams that night.

We were back at the school, and the flock was…I'd say…four or five years younger than they are now. But…Kayla was there. So that's impossible.

But still…It almost seemed…real…

They were about to do experiments on us.

A whitecoat's feet passed by my cage as he examined each of us. Those Jerks!

There was a moan from Iggy, and I woke up.

The sun was bright above our heads.

I looked over at Iggy, who had his arm over his eyes, shielding them.

"Iggy, since when are you bothered by sunlight?" I asked. Could he see light now, or something?

He squinted.

"Trees…" He said, dreamily. What was his problem?

"I—I see them! Max!" He said happily, looking at me.

"What? What's so special about—WHAT? YOU _SEE _THEM?!" I shouted. The flock woke up. Oops…

"Wow, I just noticed, you're pretty." He said, looking at me, beaming.

"Thanks…?" I asked. I was so happy I didn't really care what he said.

"Wow." Fang said, scratching his head.

"What?" I asked, looking at Fang.

"I just had a fourteen-year-long nightmare that Iggy was blind." Fang said.

"It wasn't a dream, dude! I can _see!_" Iggy said.

"I can fight!" Said Gazzy, doing a perfect imitation of King Arthur. Too much Nickelodeon.

"You're perty too," He teased, looking at Kayla, and doing a good southern accent. That could be a new power, too.

She blushed and giggled.

"Ready to do the mission today?" I asked, looking at Kayla. No failing today.

She bit her lip. Harder. Harder. REALLY HARD! Then she started sobbing uncontrollably.

I winced. What had I done? That's one thing that I hadn't dealt with as a 'parent.' Crying!

"It's okay," I said, patting her back.

"Aw…I think someone needs a hug." Iggy said, opening his arms. She nodded and hugged him. She cried into his abnormally tall chest. Jeez, that boy can get a girl quick!

So much for the mission. This girl was sensitive.

_Max, she doesn't have to come with you._

I wasn't going to make her feel bad, so this was a thought conversation.

_She doesn't? _I asked.

_No. You like doing teamwork._

_Yeah?_

_Well, sometimes you don't get what you want._

_Achem! Sometimes?_

_Well she can stay here._

_All by herself?_

_Hmm. _The voice thought for second. Wait…if the voice is inside my head, then how could it think? Shouldn't I hear it?

_She could stay with Iggy. She seems to like him the most._

_Well…okay…_

"Alright, Iggy and Kayla stay here. The rest of you, come with me." I said.

Time to try again.


	4. 4

(A/N: You're all probably like yeeessssssss

**(A/N: You're all probably like yeeessssssss! A New chappie! FINALLY! Well yeah yeah I had company. Well aaaanywaaay, Here's chappie four. I want you to describe your faces at the end of the chappie when you REVIEW. Thank you.)**

Our second trip through the forever-parking-lot wasn't as bad this time around. Same old stuff. Same old 'reserved for Bob Smith' parking spots.

We were finally at the door. I just don't see what could be so bad about this place.

We walked in. No high-tech security stuff. It wasn't that bad.

Now we had no clue what this place was. So I just asked the voice. It's reply? Ha! As if.

_Max, you really just need to ask someone what the place is. _Oh. I'll just do that.

_Couldn't you just tell me? _I asked smartly.

_Max, Max, Max. What fun would that be?_

_WHAT FUN WOULD – DA – DAHAHA!_

"Max?" Fang said, looking at me strangely.

"Huh?" I said, stopping talking to the voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, just good old voice." I said through clenched teeth.

Fang suddenly went wide-eyed. Not good.

"MAX! Behind you!" Fang shouted urgently. And, of course, I turned around to see a big, burly dude with a crowbar. TWANG! On my head. Then I couldn't see well. Everything was blurry. I felt faint. And I did. Faint.

Ugh… Where was I?

I felt the cool breeze of flying, but I couldn't be. I opened my eyes. The world was sideways, coming at me, in the sky. I realized my head was dangling and looked up. Fang was carrying me. He was looking ahead. I guess he didn't know I was awake yet. I squirmed a bit to get his attention.

He looked down at me, his head now blocking the sun.

"Guys." He said, looking to his left, revealing the sun.

We landed, his eyes on me. Iggy and Kayla weren't near here.

"We need bandages." Fang declared.

"We don't have any," Nudge explained.

Gazzy was cutting his shirt. The only problem was his shirt wasn't sticky.

But he was examining a tree. He peeled back the bark, and put the edges of the shirt strip on it. Well there you go. A bandage.

"Where'd you learn that?" Fang asked.

"Jeb." He replied. Oh yeah, he _had _taught us that.

He stuck the bandage on my head. It stung a lot. I clutched Fang harder.

"Ooow," Fang said, grimacing.

"Sorry," I said quickly, loosening my grip.

"Ugh. We can't go on the mission with Max like this. She's too injured." Fang explained.

"So I guess we go back to 'camp,' then?" Nudge asked.

"Yeah." Fang said.

We all (Except me; Fang was carrying me) took off and set off for 'camp.'

I was in so much pain. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. No good. It just made me drowsy. And slightly delirious.

"Fangy Fangy Fangy. You're so nice." I said, cuddling closer to him. Strike that. Extremely delirious.

"You're so soft and fluffy." I slurred, snuggling him. I yawned. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

I felt my stomach lurch and I woke up. We were landing. Oh God. What did I say to Fang? Soft and Fluffy? WHAT THE HECK?

We finally landed. Iggy and Kayla weren't there. I guess we were walking the rest of the way.

"Fang?" I slurred, extremely tired.

"I'm here." He said firmly.

"Where's…" I yawned. "Where's Iggy and Yawn Kayla?" I said.

"We're all tired. We're walking the rest." He said.

"Okay. Are you sure you can carry me?"

"Yes."

"Okay. How's my head?"

"You tell me."

"Throbbing. I meant how does it look?"

"It looks like you got shot. And then didn't sleep for 100 years."

"Ouch."

"Yup. We're almost there."

"How do you know that?"

"I have a laptop."

"Oh yeah. How's the blog?"

"Pretty good."

"So you know about our entries?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Have you read the Manga?"

"The what?"

"My Manga."

"What's a – oh – My God…" He Said.

"What is it – Oh…" I stammered.

What did I see? Well. Nothing much.

Just Iggy and Kayla Making out.

**(A/N: HA! Surprise! Okay just tell me the look on your face when you read that. Pweez? Heh. Happy Reading!)**


	5. 5

(Ha

**(Ha! I knew that'd get you! Well, here's the rest of the cliffie. I just might put another one at the end. But that's for you to find out.)**

Yup. You heard me. They were MAKING OUT. It was kinda gross. It didn't feel like the whole Fang and Lissa thing, but it was still kind of a bad feeling.

I mean, what would happen if they broke up? Serious awkwardness people!

But of course, there were times between me and Fang, and nothing is 'weird' between us. So I could let this slide.

Iggy and Kayla were now looking at us, terrified.

_How's that plan now, voice? _I asked in my 'I told you so' tone.

_Not so good, actually. You didn't even get five feet into the place without being slammed on your head. _He said, as if he didn't know what was going on.

_Um…I was kind of referring to the whole, Iggy Kayla thing._

_Iggy Kayla thing? Hmm…You mean the romance? _

_Uh-huh. _I said slowly, explaining this to it.

_That needs a better name, doesn't it?_

I was speechless.

_Thought so. _He said, as if I'd agreed.

_Well, lets combine their names. Kiggy?_

_FORGET ABOUT THE NAMES! Don't you see what this will do to the flock?_

_Max, Max. What's a life without a little love? _

_We all have each other to have our backs._

_Oh. I just remembered. You don't know._

_I don't know what?_

_What not loving someone is like._

_What?_

_Fax._

_What the flying fadoodle are you talking about?_

_I think I know more about you than you do. It's simply—_

_Wait a minute… _I said, interrupting him.

_If Iggy and Kayla is Kiggy, _I continued._ Then Fax must be…NO! I can't love Fang. The same reason I feel uncomfortable about Kiggy!_

_Then you obviously don't know your limitations._

_What?_

_You need to catch on better. I mean, you love Fang and you know it. But you just don't want to._

_NO! I mean I kinda think I might, but I can't! I can't do that to the flock! No more drama! GAH!_

_Calm down, Max. You don't have to do anything about it. Just letting you know._

_I'm ignoring you._

_Of course you are. And you don't care what I'm saying._

_Still ignoring you._

_You're ignoring truth._

_OH! SO IS THAT YOUR NAME? TRUTH? WELL ALL I'VE HEARD FROM YOU, IS LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES!_

_Max,_

_AND WHAT'S MORE! YOU DON'T TELL ME THINGS WHEN I NEED THEM!_

_MAX!_

_WHAT!?_

_You're love is speaking to you._

_My Love? Why you little…_

"Max!" Fang said, shaking me.

"Wha…" I replied.

"Iggy's trying to tell you something."

"Yeah?" I said, looking at Iggy.

"I'm sorry, okay?" He said pleadingly.

"Eh, what's life without a little love?" I said, imitating the voice. I stormed off.

Iggy and Kayla looked at each other and blinked several times.

I sat down against a tree and sat with my head in my knees. This totally sucked!

And of all people, there was only one person who came over.

Fang.

He sat down next to me, unspeaking as usual.

He sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

He squeezed my arm and then said, "Life not working for you?"

"No, Fang." I said, and then pouted into my knees. "My life doesn't work. Period."

He sighed again.

"I feel so terrible." He said.

"Why?" I said, looking up.

"You're sad."

I just pouted into my knees. "Uh-huh." I choked out. Then – Get this – The invincible, tough-as-nails, incredibly strong, Maximum Ride, Started crying.

I just let myself fall to the left, onto Fang. He propped me up and hugged me.

"Max, Max. What's wrong?"

"Voice." I hardly shuddered.

"Man, If he were an actual person, I kick his a—butt!"

I Chuckled sadly, and continued to sob.

He started making warm circles between my wings, calming me. Eventually, I was spent, and was just breathing shuddering breaths.

I just stayed in that position.

--Chapter Break--

Fang POV

I held Max in my arms as she cried. Eventually, she stopped, and just sat there, her head on my shoulder.

_That's nice of you, to care for her like that. Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on._

"Who said that?" I said. It was in my head, but it wasn't me. Max looked at me questioningly, her face still red from crying.

'_Tis I, the infamous voice._

I screamed as loud as I could.

**(ahahahah! Evil cliffie! MUAHAHAHAHA! I think if you could imagine that, it'd look OOC but funny, but Fang loves Max, and the voice did a whole bunch of bad things, so it was worse than 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (One Septillion) flyboys. Sorry voice!)**


End file.
